Erin and Richard Roark, the recipients of this year’s Community Design Award for their outstanding work on the master plan for revitalization of Palumbo Park, make a pretty exceptional team.

Richard Roark RLA, ASLA, LEED AP, and Erin K.M. Roark, RA, LEED AP, recipients of the 2009 Community Design Award

Erin and Richard have volunteered their skills to help Collaborative clients for years. Most recently, they formed a two-person team and worked with the Palumbo Park Task Force and the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial to create  a conceptual landscape plan for Palumbo Park.

Before the couple decided to take on this project together, the Roarks never had a chance to work together as a husband-wife team on a project outside their home. In their own words, “This was a big step up from renovating the bathroom and designing Christmas cards.” Read Full Story

A front porch for Palumbo Park? The conceptual landscape master plan for Palumbo Park is our 2009 Community Design Award recipient.

Join the Community Design Collaborative on Tuesday, October 13 at 6 p.m. at the Center for Architecture to celebrate the work of the volunteers who contributed their time and expertise on projects initiated in 2008  and recognize some of our outstanding volunteers, leaders, and projects.  Stay with us for the rest of the evening as the Collaborative presents Ad Hoc Urbanism: Adventures in Temporary Reuse, a talk by Terry Schwarz of the Cleveland Urban Design Center on Pop Up City.

The Collaborative is proud to announce its 2009 award recipients:

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Who could have predicted that in the midst of a recession year, the Collaborative would be recognized at more nonprofit ground-breaking ceremonies than ever before?

Celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our volunteers, nonprofits and civic associations who have dedicated their time to strengthening neighborhoods through design:

You understand the value of the Community Design Collaborative’s work in Philadelphia neighborhoods.  Here’s a simple way you can impact both. Make a donation before October 13th and you will help save paper and postage!

The Collaborative thanks you!

Community Design Collaborative Board Co-Chair Michael J. Paul

You really just can’t say enough good things about Michael J. Paul. A structural engineer, Michael has volunteered his engineering skills with the Community Design Collaborative for over 15 years, contributing to more than 20 different community design projects in the Philadelphia area. After studying Psychology as an undergraduate at Dartmouth, Michael received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Architecture from MIT; he is a registered architect as well as a professional engineer.
Here at the Community Design Collaborative, Michael is one of our renaissance men. Read Full Story

Eric Heidel is only a bowler once a year, but he made a fantastic co-chair for our Bowling Ball Committee, along with Greg Hart. A registered architect, Eric graduated from Drexel University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Architecture, Cum Laude. Now, he spends most of his spare time with his band Bleed Radio Bleed (he’s the guitarist), recording their first album. Eric first got to know the Collaborative by participating in the Bowling Ball and went on to volunteer on the redesign of two college access centers run by the Philadelphia Education Fund. For him, the value of community design is in the fact that connecting neglected communities with design can help people “appreciate neighborhood features and provide an incentive to fix up neighborhood treasures.”

Eric was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and he recently started work at the firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

Congratulations to Eric and Greg for pulling off another successful Bowling Ball!

Collaborative Volunteer and Bowling Ball Co-Chair Greg Hart

Graduate Architect Greg Hart’s first introduction to the Collaborative was attending our annual Bowling Ball four years ago, and he’s been a part of the event ever since. So it’s fitting that he’s now leading the Bowling Ball Committee, along with fellow volunteer Eric Heidel. As Co-Chairs. Greg and Eric have put their heads together to find creative ways to make the Bowling Ball environmentally-friendly and extend participation in the event.

Greg graduated from Drexel University in 2002, and he’s currently studying for the AREs. He has volunteered on several projects with the Collaborative. His most memorable project was creating a Master Plan for Renewal for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Greg recalls that the Victorian – era church, “was structurally sound but needed extensive masonry repairs and stained-glass and lead window restoration … I was exposed to historic preservation on a level I hadn’t been before.”

When he’s not helping out at the Collaborative, Greg can be found jogging on Kelly Drive or rooting for Philly’s new soccer team, the Philadelphia Union.

Here’s a heartwarming story that illustrates, once again, why we love our volunteers.  Michelle Robinson Architects wanted to sponsor a bowling lane this year, but Michelle was unavailable to bowl on the day of the event.  Michelle offered to share a lane with another firm or donate it to a group.

Enter stage right: Nicholas Moose of the AIA Associates Committee. Nick really wanted to bowl, but was having difficulty finding a firm to sponsor his team of young architects. Wallah! Nick and the Associates AIA committee now have a team sponsor and couldn’t be happier.

You too can be a ghost bowler! If you’re interested in sponsoring a lane or otherwise contributing to the Bowling Ball, Carryn can help you out.  Get in touch by sending her an email at email hidden; JavaScript is required